Wine Tasting: Off the Beaten Track, Part Deux

In my most recent tasting classes, the wines featured originated from both nearby and far afield, although all were "off-the-beaten-track" in that even many of my most esteemed students were not aware of or had ever tasted wines from these regions.  Ever since I began conducting wine tasting classes, I've always been keen to expand people's palates and encourage imbibers to branch out from their old familiar, well-worn bottles of choice, especially since there is so much to discover in the world of wines.  I was delighted to introduce to the students wines from countries they had never seen or tasted, and was even more pleased by their very positive feedback.  It takes an extra effort to seek out these outliers, but with a little research which I'm happy to provide in this post, your diligence will be well rewarded.

As the first class was held on Halloween, I couldn't resist the marketing ploy of a Transylvanian wine that was not shy about cashing in on its mythological heritage.  At least two varietals from this producer are currently available in PA wine stores - Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, both retailing for about $9, so you shouldn't expect to actually turn into a werewolf after a couple of swigs! The Cab is definitely the better of the two, whereas the Pinot, which we sampled in the second class a few weeks later, is rather thin, weak and watery with only the faintest hints of this noble grape - which is too bad since Romania has a long history of wine culture but has not succeeded in attracting quality modern winemakers, likely due to the unstable economy and political corruption. In any event, the Cab is enjoyable as a lark, and quaffable enough.

The rest of the line-up were definitely winners, with the possible exception of the McPherson "La Herencia" which didn't quite succeed in its homage to Spanish Riojas. On the other hand, its "Les Copains"  was a very fine rendition of  the Rhone-style blend at a very attractive price ($15).

Without a doubt, the real stand-out happened to be the local wine from an estate just outside Philadelphia (who'd've thunk, right?).  I'm talking about Karamoor Estate, of course.  We sampled the 2010 Meritage  in the first class, and the 2013 in the second.  If my palate memory serves, the 2013 vintage was even more rich, smooth, and luscious in mouthfeel, full of dark fruit flavors and silky tannins.  It has good aging potential.

The Lebanese wine, Les Bretèches, definitely benefited from extended breathing, developing more layered and complex flavors and aromas.  And the Moroccan Syrocco was an excellent tribute to the hefty Syrahs of the Northern Rhone, which is not surprising given that the winemaker is a Frenchman.  An excellent deal for about $16 at Wine Works in Cherry Hill.

And last, but not least, the Georgian Saperavi was a new discovery for all class attendees, and positive reviews were pretty much universal.  Saperavi, a native Georgian varietal, is perhaps the darkest of all red grapes, but don't let that mislead you - this particular wine was actually medium-bodied, low in alcohol and just slightly sweet with some residual sugar.  Its unique flavor profile is somewhere between Cab, Merlot, Zinfandel and Tannat.  Renditions of Saperavi do vary from very dry and quite tannic to semi-sweet and softer on the palate.  There is actually a Pennsylvania winery near Lewisberg, Fero,  http://www.ferovineyards.com/ which makes an excellent Saperavi on the drier side, but you might have to take a road trip out there to taste it since it's not widely available in stores. 

There you have it - our latest foray into some of the lesser known wine regions that deserve more attention and respect.  So gear up your palate and keep on tasting!



Karamoor Sauvignon Blanc 2015  ($19)

Tasting Notes: Tropical notes of pineapple and coconut with a hint of honeysuckle lead to a profile of Meyer lemon and flinty minerality; exhibits bright acidity with long, lingering finish; medium to full-bodied.

Alcohol: 13.5%


Werewolf Cabernet Sauvignon/Pinot Noir

                          

Appellation: Transylvania, Romania

Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon/100% Pinot Noir

Production/Tasting Notes: 

Alcohol: 13%

Karamoor Meritage 2010/2013 ($31 in PA Stores; discounts available at the winery)

                   

Appellation: Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania

Varietals: 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Petit Verdot

Production/Tasting Notes: Aged for 16 months in 65% French oak, 20% American oak, 15% Hungarian oak, of which 30% was new oak.  Plums, currants, and traces of dusty leather carry to opulent, dark fruit on a silky textured palate; well-managed tannins create the velvety mouthfeel and promising aging potential.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Les Bretèches Château Kefraya 2013  ($12 at Wine Works, NJ)

                        

Appellation :  Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Varietals: 32% Cinsault, 23% Tempranillo, 20% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Carignan, 6% Mourvedre

Production/Tasting Notes:  Spicy nose with notes of black currant and cherry; silky tannins; opulent red fruit flavors

Alcohol: 13.5%

McPherson “La Herencia” 2014 ($15 in PA)

                   

Appellation: West Texas

Varietals: 78% Tempranillo, 8% Grenache, 7% Mourvedre, 4% Carignan, 3% Syrah

Production/Tasting Notes: Skin contact for one month; 10 months aging in new and neutral French oak; juicy bramble fruit, tobacco leaf, and spice.

Food Pairing: Texas BBQ (what else??!!)

Alcohol: 13.9%

McPherson “Les Copains” 2014  ($15 in PA)

  

Appellation: West Texas

Varietals: 34% Mourvèdre, 32% Cinsault, 14% Carignan, 10% Syrah, 10% Grenache

Production/Tasting Notes: Skin contact for 3 weeks; 10 months aging in French oak; bright acidity, wild strawberry, cherry, and herbal spice. 

Food Pairing: Steak, pork chop

Alcohol: 13.8%

Syrocco  Thalvin (Alain Graillot) Domaine des Ouleb Thaled 2013  ($16 at Wine Works, NJ)

                      

Appellation: Zenata Morocco

Varietal: 100% Syrah

Production/Tasting Notes: Organic farming; average 25-year old vines; barrel-aged; complex aromatics: plenty of ripe purple black fruits and dried red cherry followed by hints of sandalwood, herbs, and spice; long, dry finish.

Syrocco is produced by legendary vigneron Alain Graillot. He stumbled upon these vineyards and the Thalvin winery while bicycling in the Zenata region of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat. This gorgeous area is an organic dream, with cool winds blowing off the Atlantic and no polluting industries whatsoever. The Thalvin winery has been around since the 1920’s, with Alain forming a partnership with them to provide Syrah vines for his own wine. Alain crafts this as a fruit-forward Moroccan red, yet it is made in an Old- World style with modern extraction.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Marani Pirosmani 2015  ($11 at Wine Works, NJ)

               

Appellation :  Kakheti, Georgia (Republic of)

Varietal: 100%  Saperavi

Production/Tasting Notes: Intense ruby color with a violet hue; on the nose, notes of ripe cherries, blackberry, black currant with hints of prunes; soft and spicy on the palate; medium-bodied; long, well-balanced finish.

Grapes are hand-picked at the optimum of their maturity. Soft de-stemming and crushing is followed by fermentation at controlled temperature (28°C) in stainless steel tanks. Wine is fermented using the cultural yeast strains. Skin and cap management is performed by délestage and remontage. When the fermenting juice reaches optimum sugar/acidity balance, fermentation is stopped by cooling, in order to retain the natural sweetness and freshness of the wine.

Alcohol: 12.5%

History of Georgian Wines 

During archaeological digs, seeds of the cultivated grape varietal "vitis vinifera sativa" dating back 7 - 6 thousand years BC, and 3 - 4 thousand year old massive clay wine fermenting amphoras, “Kvevri” have been uncovered from ancient settlements in modern Georgia, suggesting that Georgian wine culture is one of the oldest in the world. Many etymologists even consider the modern generic word “wine” to be derived from the ancient Georgian word “gvino”.  Currently, there are over 500 authentic Georgian grape varietals, 38 of which are used for commercial wine production in Georgia today.

Château Kefraya

Located in the West Bekaa Valley, the large estate of Château Kefraya has been the Bustros family’s property for generations. The castle was built starting 1946 on an artificial hill used by the Romans centuries ago to observe their troop movements. Founder and visionary Michel de Bustros undertook massive work to plant Château Kefraya’s vineyards on those magnificent hillsides. The first vines were planted in 1951 and in 1979 - despite the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) - Château Kefraya started producing its own wine with its own grapes grown in its own vineyard and vinified in its own cellar.

In the early 80’s, “Les Coteaux de Kefraya” 1982 and 1983 win the winery’s first international medals and Château Kefraya started exporting its wines to France. In 1997, American wine critic Robert Parker awarded the 1996 Comte de M 91 points, qualifying it as “an amazing accomplishment in Lebanon”.  Today, Château Kefraya is present in more than 40 countries over the five continents.

The vineyard spreads over 300 hectares of terraced slopes, 1000 meters above the Mediterranean Sea, on the foothills of Mount Barouk in the Bekaa Valley.

Clay-limestone, clay-chalk as well as sandy and gravelly soils compose a real mosaic of terroirs. The vines enjoy an exceptional sun exposure with no irrigation. They are mainly trellised with a planting density of 4000 vines per hectare and an average yield limited to 35 hectoliters per hectare.

In addition to the diversity of soil, Château Kefraya uses a wide and exciting range of grape varieties in its blends, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier as well as more unusual varieties such as Carménère, Marselan and Muscat à Petits Grains.

A sustainable wine-growing policy allows the vines to flourish, while respecting the terroir’s expression. Significant variations in temperatures between day and night ensure a perfect ripening of the grapes and optimal harvest conditions.

The Karamoor Estate

Nick and Athena Karabots have called Karamoor Farm home since the early 1970s.  Both are first generation Greeks  who have a deep love for their family, philanthropy, and Karamoor Farm. In the mid-seventies, the Karabotses bought Brookside Farm and eventually the adjacent Oxmoore Estate, as well as a few other pieces of property.  The Karabotses combined the properties and renamed them as Karamoor Farm, which is a combination of the Karabotses last name and the second half of Oxmoore (there is also a loose translation to the Greek "hara mou", meaning "my joy", which also applies).  Karamoor's land had been farmed for hundreds of years (documented prior to the days of William Penn) and the Karabotses continued that tradition, growing all types of crops, primarily hays and grains for farm animals.

In 2003, Nick and Athena decided that they wanted to be able to enjoy the crops that grew on the land of their beloved home, and began the planning process to replace the existing crops with vineyards.  The symmetry and clean lines of vineyards were beautiful to them, and they had always had a great appreciation for wine.  They hired Lucie Morton, a top viticulturist in the United States, who did soil and exposure studies to decide what varietals could be planted and on what areas of the farm.  The plan was to plant all vinifera varieties (varieties derived from European grapes); by the Karabotses desire, they settled on Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Petit Verdot.  The first 12 acres went in the ground in 2006, followed by an additional 5 acres in 2008 and an additional 10 in 2013.

McPherson Cellars

The McPherson family has been a part of Texas grape growing and winemaking for over 40 years. McPherson Cellars was created to honor Winemaker Kim McPherson’s father Dr. Clinton “Doc” McPherson, a founder and pioneer of the modern Texas wine industry. In 1976 Doc, then a Chemistry Professor at Texas Tech University, and Bob Reed founded Llano Estacado Winery in Lubbock, one of the first post-Prohibition Texas wineries. Doc was one of the state's prime grape growers and was the first in Texas to plant Sangiovese in his Sagmor Vineyard.

Kim McPherson’s Texas wines have won over 450 medals in state, national and international wine competitions. He continues to play an innovative and dynamic role in the development of the Texas wine industry. Kim and Doc were inducted into the Who's Who in Food and Wine in Texas Hall of Fame in 1999. Kim converted the historic 1930s era Coca Cola bottling plant in downtown Lubbock into a winery and McPherson Cellars opened in fall 2008.